The Divine
by Chrmdpoet
Summary: Regina is an Angel of the Fallen, a divine being assigned to restore the hope of despaired mortals on the verge of suicide. Her newest charge, Emma Swan, sparks something in her-a flair of life that has Regina wondering what it would mean to be mortal. Soon, she is defying the laws and covenants of her kind, risking her existence for more time with Emma.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So, this is a prompt writing**** that ended up being way longer than it was originally intended to be. I received a prompt for a drabble on my Tumblr, and it inspired me so much that I couldn't stop writing, and instead of a drabble, I ended up with close to 8,000 words. I was asked to publish it here as well, so here you go.**

**The prompt was: "Fallen Angel!Regina? Who falls in love with Emma? and vice versa?"**

**There will be one more chapter, and this will be completed as a two-shot. I hope you all enjoy. XO-Chrmdpoet**

**The Divine**

Regina's hands were clasped gently behind her back as she waited in line to receive her newest charges. Her eyes were distant, colder than usual, deeper than ever. Her lips down-turned in the slightest frown she refused to let fully bloom. She had lost two charges within the last four days. It had been a difficult week, and yet, she knew she must persevere.

It was her purpose, after all. Her entire existence revolved around the hopeless, the desperate, the lost.

A soft hand landed upon her shoulder, and it felt heavier than it should, merely adding to the weight of Regina's recent losses. Regina turned in line to see the only other of her kind she had ever remotely grown close to.

"Hello Kathryn," she voiced quietly, the blonde woman now before her glowing in the soft oranges and reds that made their home an eternal sunrise.

"Regina," Kathryn said softly, squeezing her shoulder and smiling sadly. "I heard of your fallen charges. My condolences. Have you properly mourned?"

"I have," Regina answered, nodding gently, "and thank you."

Kathryn nodded in return, and then both women turned to right themselves in line, just as it came to be Regina's turn to approach the Arch.

The Arch reached forward a glowing white hand and settled it across Regina's chocolate eyes as she knelt before the ethereal being. No voice sounded in the space of the air around them, yet as always, Regina heard the Arch's melodic whisper echo within her mind.

"Regina, you have lost many this cycle."

Regina spoke in return, only in her thoughts as was proper. "Yes, Your Grace," she thought, the words bouncing around her mind. "My apologies."

"Your heart aches for your losses," the Arch answered, whispering inside her head. "Let go of your grief, child."

Regina took a deep, steady breath and opened the portal of her soul to release her grief into the Arch's hand, still settled across her eyes. It was a process that many were required to endure after losing several souls in a short amount of time. It was a way of releasing the burden of loss, absorbed by the Arch and scattered into the wind. It was both jarring and relieving.

Regina felt the weight of the grief she had been harboring leak slowly from her aching body and out into the Arch's hand, thoroughly lightening her spirit and brightening the glow of hope in her aura.

"Thank you," she whispered inside her mind.

"You shall receive only one charge this cycle," the Arch then told her. "A desperate soul in need of guidance."

"Only one?" Regina asked. "As punishment, Your Grace?"

"No, my child," the Arch answered softly. "This soul is special. Her fate is one that must come to pass, for one day, she will save many lives. Her hope, however, has dwindled. You shall restore it."

"Yes, Your Grace," Regina thought, and then there was a blast of light behind her eyelids followed by a clear image dancing inside her mind of a beautiful woman with long, golden curls, striking emerald eyes, and a soft, sad smile.

The woman's name, heritage, parentage, birth date, fated death date, height, weight, and physical and mental health all entered Regina's mind like data being punched into a computer system. Within seconds, Regina knew everything there was to know about Emma Swan-every trial the woman had endured, every thought she had ever thought, every feeling she had ever felt, everything. And when the Arch's hand slipped away from her eyes, Regina felt the weight and burden of this woman's emotions strike her with full force, intimate knowledge of the woman's despair. It was the only way to empathize, to truly help.

Regina dipped into a graceful bow before exiting the line. She made her way to the field of transcendence, opening her arms wide and closing her eyes. She let the image of her newest and now only charge fill her mind, and then carry her away to where a hopeless soul waited for answers, for guidance, for renewed hope.

* * *

The first day was for observing.

Regina appeared in the middle of a busy sidewalk, traffic teeming in the city streets to her right and people bustling along around her, some right through her. None could see or feel her presence. She was but an invisible, intangible entity in the midst of bubbling life.

She glanced around, allowing the draw of her charge to pull her along, and then she saw her. Emma Swan, golden hair and forest eyes filled with despair.

Just as Regina laid eyes upon the blonde, just a few feet away from her through the crowd of bustling people, Emma turned and looked right at her.

Regina sucked in hard gasp, despite the fact that she didn't breathe and had no need of air. Emma had looked right through her, though it seemed, for a moment, as if the woman had actually looked _at _her, as if she had seen Regina standing there, reaching for her.

But then Emma blinked and turned away, and Regina felt a wave of sorrow rush through her. She was startled to find that it was her own, and not that of her charge. Regina quickly shook her head and moved to follow Emma as the woman made her way down the busy sidewalk, all hard angles and slouched posture.

Regina observed Emma as she followed along. She observed the way the woman kept her hands thrust down into the pockets of her tight jeans, how she kept her head ducked down both from the wind and from the sight of others. Emma Swan moved through the world as if she was not a part of it, as if she longed to be invisible.

Regina had seen this countless times. People became smaller, made themselves smaller, the nearer they grew to taking their own lives. Despair made them crouch and buckle, made them tuck and bend. It made mortals crumble until their resolve to live faded into nonexistence and they chose to stop thriving.

Emma's memories played through Regina's mind like a somber lullaby, and Regina saw the reasons for the woman's despair. They were many and enduring. This woman...she had no family, no one to call her own. An orphan, a loveless child. A wayward teen. A broken soul.

Her life had been filled with such hardship and little reward for her perseverance. Such conditions were not conducive to thriving. Many mortals had buckled beneath the weight of less.

Emma Swan had yet to find a true reason to live. Living for the sake of living was never enough, and every minute that passed her by without providing her a purpose, a burst of joy, was one minute more in which she thought to end her life, to end her own suffering.

Her bone-deep loneliness had become her only companion, until today.

Regina walked along beside Emma, her eyes tracking over the blonde's face as she got a feel for the way the woman moved and interacted with others. She watched her clipped conversations with store clerks, her complete avoidance of friendly strangers, her thoughtless reactions to her employer's assignments. Regina found the woman fascinating to merely watch, though she could not understand why.

Since the age of creation, in which mortals came to walk the earth, Regina had taken on countless charges, had walked with trillions of lost souls, guiding and comforting and leading away from the point of no return. Never once had she been so enraptured by a mortal.

Something about Emma Swan drew her in, made her curious, since the first moment in which Regina had mistakenly believed the woman to have seen her. Something about Emma Swan made Regina wonder, for the first time in the entirety of her own existence, what it might be like to be mortal.

She listened to Emma's thoughts throughout the day and well into the night, and noted that many were memories. It seemed the blonde ran a constant reel of memories through her mind, picking over every little detail of every hurtful, despairing event. It only fueled her pain.

When Emma had finally drifted to sleep, Regina remained much longer than she was meant to, much longer than she ever had before. She merely watched Emma sleep, her gaze tracking the hard lines of Emma's face, lines that failed to ease even in sleep. Regina reached forward then and placed a hand atop Emma's forehead, a touch that neither of them felt, and gave the woman a blessing for peaceful rest.

The softest of smiles tugged at the corner of Regina's lips then as she saw those hard lines instantly begin to smooth away. She then stepped back and closed her eyes, disappearing from Emma's tiny loft apartment altogether, and reappearing atop the roof of Emma's building. The wind blew around her, more forceful with the elevation, yet Regina remained perfectly unaffected. Her clothes and hair didn't move at all, not even an inch. The elements didn't touch her.

She stared into the dark night for only a moment, appreciating the beauty that was this strange yet interesting creation, before spreading her arms wide.

Massive black wings burst from her back and stretched out behind her. They glittered in the moonlight, dark yet illuminated, and then she was off. She spiraled into the cold night air, her wings pumping around her, carrying her into the hidden sunrise she knew as home.

* * *

"How is your new charge?" Kathryn asked softly as they sat atop the drifting mist.

"Stunning," Regina answered without thought, thoroughly capturing her friend's attention.

Kathryn turned to look at her then, brows furrowed. "Regina…" she began softly, reaching to place a gentle hand atop the brunette's arm.

Regina nodded. "I know," she whispered. "We must never draw too near."

"Mm," Kathryn hummed, nodding. "You connect with her, though?"

Regina sighed softly. "She intrigues me," she admitted. "I…Something in her draws me in. She is beautiful, yet so despaired."

"So many of them are," Kathryn agreed, patting Regina's arm. "So many of them are."

* * *

Regina followed Emma for days, growing more and more attached to the mortal. It frightened her, yet she could not bring herself to let go of the blonde. The more Emma's despair grew, the closer Regina longed to be.

She worked as she was meant to, filling the blonde's mind with hopeful thoughts. She lightened her burdens by pulling weight from woman's soul in her sleep. She repeated positive thoughts and mantras in the woman's ears each day as they made their way through Emma's routines, Regina a silent companion who wished nothing more than to ease the woman's soul.

It wasn't working, though.

Each day, Emma merely grew more despaired, that loneliness deepening, darkening. And for the first time in her existence, Regina was afraid.

It was a natural part of their work to know that some charges simply could not be saved. Her kind dealt with losses on a regular basis, and they were to grieve but never attach. Yet, the mere thought of losing this woman caused true fear to spark in Regina's soul. It was unlike anything she had ever truly felt.

When she shared emotions with mortals, they were but phantom experiences, soft touches, sometimes forceful touches, but never so deep within her that it robbed her of clarity. Yet, Emma's despair certainly had.

Regina could not release, and she refused to leave Emma's side, even to return for report. She remained with the mortal she had grown so attached to—those deep emerald eyes like a clutch she had fallen into, a grip that refused to let her go. And she found herself thinking irrational thoughts—owning desires she had never known.

She wished to stay. She wished to comfort, in ways beyond mere words or phantom hope. She wished to embrace this woman, in a way that only mortals embraced. She wished to…be a part of her, a part of her life somehow.

Regina wished to be seen.

A hard gasp ripped through Emma's throat, causing her to choke and erupt into a fit of coughing. She had only just turned from the small stove in her kitchen to find a woman standing in the middle of the room behind her. Her eyes blew wide as she doubled over coughing, never letting her gaze leave the mysterious intruder.

Regina glanced around quickly, unsure of what was happening. Had someone entered Emma's apartment uninvited? Was there a threat she was unaware of? She searched Emma's heart and mind, but found nothing but panic and strangely…intrigue.

"Who the hell are you?" Emma finally shouted, once the coughing had passed. She then lunged across to the kitchen counter and grabbed a small steak knife she had been using. She whirled back around, holding it up in the direction of the woman. "How did you get in here?"

Regina glanced around again, her brows furrowing. Who was she talking to? She then turned back to Emma to follow the woman's gaze, but then she realized…

Those piercing green eyes were looking straight at her. Regina whipped around to peer directly behind her, but saw nothing. She turned back and Emma was still staring at her, wide-eyed and gripping the knife. "I asked you a damn question, lady. How did you get in here and what do you want?"

Panic flooded Regina's system as a hand shot up to her chest. "Me?" she asked, feeling foolish for even voicing the question considering she knew mortals could not see or interact with her kind.

But then Emma nodded and exclaimed, "Yeah you! Who the hell else would I be talking to?"

Regina's eyes bulged with her surprise and had she breath, it would have caught roughly in her throat. "You…you can see me?"

"Well of fucking course I can see you, lady!" Emma snapped. "What, did you crack your head on something while you were BREAKING INTO my apartment?!"

Regina was completely flustered, and on some level elated. "That is…this is impossible," she whispered. No one had ever seen her before. No one. Not in millennia of walking with the living.

"Alright, you've obviously got some issues," Emma said after a beat. "Look, if you leave now on your own, I won't call the cops or anything, but you need to go."

"No," Regina said quickly, almost pleadingly, glancing back up. "I…I am sorry if I startled you, Emma. I certainly di—"

"Whoa, whoa, wait," Emma said, jerking the knife back up into a defensive position since she had only just relaxed a little. "How do you know my name? Who are you?"

Regina didn't know what to say. She could tell the truth of course, but what mortal would believe her? Of course, she could provide proof, but then she would be breaking so many rules of her kind that she may as well sign herself over to being recycled. Then again, she had already broken many rules in order to remain with Emma for long periods of time. She had already broken the rules of remaining hidden from mortals, despite the fact that she hadn't a clue as to how she was actually being seen.

She could lie, make up some quick story of who she was and her purpose for being there, but that didn't sit well with Regina either. She had never once lied in her existence. It had never been necessary, and it was particularly frowned upon amongst her kind.

So, after a long moment, she said the truest yet simplest thing she could manage. "My name is Regina."

"Regina," Emma repeated quietly, the knife lowering a bit without the blonde realizing.

Regina's eyes fluttered closed for a moment. There was something about the way Emma said her name. It made her feel…alive.

"Yes," she confirmed softly. "And I am here to help you."

"What do you mean?" Emma asked her, eyes still narrowed in suspicion, though Regina was fully aware of the way that green gaze tracked the full length of her body. It was curious, and Regina was quite intrigued by it. She had never actually seen her own reflection, and there was no measure of attraction amongst her own kind. She wondered, momentarily, if this woman found her attractive. "Help me how?"

"You have lost hope," Regina told her matter-of-factly. "It is my purpose to restore it."

"Okay, wow," Emma laughed out mockingly. "Lady, you are a serious piece of work. Okay, I think you need to go."

"No, please," Regina said quickly, putting up a hand and taking a step toward Emma, who quickly took a step back. "There is no need to be afraid of me. What I have said is the truth. How else would I know your name?"

"There are a lot of ways to figure out a person's name," Emma deadpanned. "You could've read my damn mailbox downstairs before coming up here."

"I have not been downstairs," Regina told her simply. "I merely appear here. I appear wherever you are."

"Oh my god. Seriously, you are cracked."

"I speak the truth," Regina said again. "If you are not satisfied with my knowledge of your name, then perhaps my knowledge of your life?"

"Meaning?"

"You were an orphaned child," Regina began, and Emma quickly cut her off.

"Yeah, again, not that hard to find out," the blonde snapped. "It's in my file after all."

Regina ignored her, simply continuing on to things she knew of Emma that most would not know, and then some that no one but Emma would know. "You lived in nine foster homes before you illegally left the foster system. You had three foster fathers who were addicted to various types of drugs—the first cocaine, the second heroin, and the third cocaine. The third forced you to participate on several occasions. Your fifth foster mother pressed an iron to your back when you forgot to wash the dishes. You still possess the scar just under your right shoulder blade."

"What the fuck?" Emma said, her breath coming fast and hard. She was backing steadily away from Regina until her back slammed into the kitchen counter. "What are you…how do you know all of—"

"On September 21st, 2000, 8:15 PM, you lost your virginity to a young male who then robbed you in your sleep of the only possessions you had managed to obtain and left you in the same night. You cried for three hours, seventeen minutes, and forty-two seconds. You whispered, 'What the hell is wrong with me?' just before you fell to slumber once more."

Tears ripped down Emma's cheeks as she stared wide-eyed at the woman before her. Her bottom lip trembled terribly as her voice came out in a ragged whisper. "How could you possibly know all of this?"

"Because I am a higher being," Regina answered, breaking her own covenant of secrecy without even a second's hesitation. Something about Emma Swan drew her over lines that she had never once dared cross in millennia of existence.

Emma was staring at her, gaping, as if she had gone insane and Regina was merely confirming it. "What?" she blurted. "What does that mean—a _higher _being? Like…like some religious shit? Like an angel or a saint or something?"

Regina nodded softly, offering the woman a gentle smile. "In the terms of your kind, yes," she explained, "I am an angel. I am an angel of the fallen."

"Oh my god," Emma choked out, shaking her head, and dropping her knife to the floor. She then paced around the kitchen frantically. "What?" she mumbled to herself. "What? No, this is not…this isn't possible. I'm losing my fucking mind. Angels…angels don't exist."

"I assure you I am quite real," Regina interjected, and when Emma turned quickly, tearful green eyes locking onto her, Regina felt shaken to her very core. She took another step toward the woman. "I…" she whispered, her own voice now slightly shaking. "As I said, I was sent to help you."

"Help me how?"

"Help you to know hope again," Regina told her. "Angels of the fallen only follow those who have grown cold with despair, those who draw near the point of no return."

"What does that _mean_?" Emma asked her, now fully crying because well…fuck, this was just too much. This…shit like this wasn't supposed to be real; and yet, here she was, standing in her kitchen with literally the most stunningly beautiful woman she had ever seen, who just so happened to be a freakin' "higher being".

"I believe you know," Regina whispered, and Emma simply crumbled. She dropped to sit upon the kitchen floor and buried her face in her hands. She cried and cried, her body shaking, and Regina merely sat beside her, terrified and surprised...

When Emma fell asleep there on the kitchen floor, pushed into slumber by a blessing brought upon her through Regina's will and hands, Regina drew herself up and left. She needed to find Kathryn, needed to understand what was happening to her.

* * *

She closed her eyes and disappeared from Emma's kitchen, reappearing on the roof of the building. She allowed her soul to call out for her kindred, and moments later, Kathryn's soft voice drifted to her. Regina opened her eyes to see the blonde angel standing before her.

"Regina," Kathryn said darkly, her face grim and serious, "you have failed to return for report in weeks."

"I know," Regina told her, bowing her head.

"You openly defy the laws of our kind," Kathryn hissed. "You could be recycled for this, Regina!"

"I know," Regina whispered, her entire body shaking despite the fact that she could not feel the cold. Angels were often recycled for breaking covenant—their life forces stripped, immortality and power taken, and then they were forced into the mortal circle of life to be reborn as an organism, a plant, a human. It was the ultimate punishment.

"What has gotten into you, Regina? Not once in the many millennia we have been—"

"She saw me," Regina blurted, and Kathryn's eyes bulged with her shock.

"What?" Kathryn gasped.

"Emma, my charge," Regina told her. "She _saw_ me. She…she spoke to me. We spoke."

"Regina, that is impossible," Kathryn whispered, her mouth gaping.

"Apparently not," Regina countered. "I know it has never happened in our history, but it has happened now."

"You must report back to the Arch right away," Kathryn told her, shaking her head and gathering her senses once more. "You must return home, Regina. You have drawn much too near. You have broken the covenant of secrecy. You will likely be recycled for this. You _must _come home with me now."

Regina stared at her friend, her soul conflicted as it never had been before, but then she thought of Emma. Emma's sorrow rippled through her soul, and those green eyes flashed through Regina's mind, and before she knew what she was doing, Regina's lips parted and she raggedly said, "No."

Kathryn's eyes widened further. "Regina, you cannot stay here."

"I have to," Regina argued in a broken whisper. "I cannot leave her."

Before Kathryn could voice another word, Regina closed her eyes and disappeared.

* * *

When Emma woke on the kitchen floor, she instantly yelped, her body jolting, as she opened her eyes to find another pair staring back at her. "Shit!" she exclaimed. "Don't do that!"

Regina smiled softly, ducking her head. "I apologize."

"You're still here," Emma said quietly then, catching her breath and finally letting her eyes roam over the woman in front of her. In the morning light streaming through the kitchen window, the woman was breathtaking. Terrifying because she had some serious crazy talk, for sure, but breathtaking nonetheless. Emma had never seen anyone so beautiful. It was almost as if the woman glowed, her chocolate hair full and vibrant in color, eyes deep and dark, her lips full, her face soft and elegant, her body perfection. She was a clear work of art, and Emma was stunned by her.

"Yes," Regina answered, nodding.

"I thought maybe I'd been dreaming," Emma told her, rubbing at her eyes. "I just…I can't believe. I mean, you get that right? You get that this is crazy, this whole angels exist and you just happen to be one of them thing, right?"

"I understand, yes," Regina told her. "Mortals have always struggled with belief. Even those who claim faith only harbor such faith because no proof has ever crossed their paths. Were I to appear before one of the self-proclaimed believers, they would likely not believe my claims of origin either. Mortals are plagued by doubt."

"Yeah…" Emma drawled, sitting up a little straighter. "Can you stop saying 'mortals'? It's weird."

"What else shall I call you?" Regina asked softly. "Is 'human' a better term for you?"

"Just stop talking about them, us, whatever, like you're separate."

"But I _am_ separate," Regina told her. "I am not human. I am divine. I am also immortal."

Emma just stared at her, completely bewildered, and yet the more Regina talked, the more Emma was beginning to believe her. She had always had this thing about being able to tell when people were lying, and she couldn't detect anything but absolute sincerity in Regina's voice. But it wasn't just that. It was everything. The woman's posture was so rigid, her voice so soft, her appearance so…almost ethereal in beauty, and the way she spoke; well, that was weird in itself. She didn't miss a step with the whole "mortals" thing and typically people, even those who were _really _good at cons, were bound to fuck up their story at some point when it was _this _off the radar. Regina seemed absolutely comfortable, convinced in all that she said, and Emma couldn't help but feel like the woman was being honest.

"So, like…legit immortal?" Emma asked her, her voice still raspy with sleep. "Like a vampire?"

"Vampires are extinct," Regina answered, shaking her head. "They were immortal creatures, but they were banished from earth, eradicated by the divine for the destruction of the mortal races many eons ago."

"Holy….just…I'm sorry. I'm just freaking out a bit," Emma told her, completely convinced now that Regina was being honest. There was just no way she could have predicted that Emma would ask about vampires and yet her answer had been immediate and easy as if total fact. It completely amazed the blonde.

"You are seriously an angel."

"I am, yes," Regina confirmed with a small smile. "And you are a human."

"Uh…yup," Emma told her, nodding. "Does this always happen? You know, like when people are depressed or whatever? You guys just come down like 'hey, don't kill yourself'?"

"Oh no," Regina told her. "No mortal being has ever gained sight of a divine since the Grecian gods sacrificed their divinity by breeding with humans."

"Whoa, whoa, like Zeus and all that?" Emma asked, her eyes bugging out.

Regina simply nodded and carried on. "I have never been seen before, not once in the entirety of my existence. None of my kind has."

"And…how old are you?"

"I am eighteen millennia, nine centuries, four decades, and seven years old."

Emma's jaw practically detached as she just gaped at the woman sitting opposite her on her cold kitchen floor. "Uh…say what?"

Regina smiled brightly before saying, "I am eighteen thousand, nine hundred, forty-seven years old."

"Holy shit!" Emma exclaimed, still gaping.

Regina just continued to smile at here, but the look on Emma's face caused a funny sensation to ripple through her body and then suddenly a burst of sound escaped her. She was laughing. Her eyes then bulged as she sucked in a hard unnecessary gasp. "Oh wow," she whispered. "I have never experienced laughter before. It is wonderful."

Emma couldn't help but smile then. "Seriously? Never?"

"Never," Regina confirmed. "There has never been a cause. Angels of the fallen deal strictly in despair."

"That's rough," Emma said, nodding. "So, you just feel sad all the time?"

"It is more that we _share_ sadness," Regina explained. "It is never fully upon us, but we do share the echoes of sorrow and the burdens of our charges."

"Your charges," Emma repeated. "Like me? Am I your charge or whatever?"

"Yes," Regina confirmed with a nod. Her expression then grew strained, sorrow spilling through her dark eyes as she bowed her head.

"Hey, hey," Emma said quickly, sitting up and reaching for Regina. Her hands, though, went right through her, so she jerked them back quickly, completely freaked out. She cleared her throat and asked, "What's wrong?"

"I am failing you," Regina admitted softly. "I have been unable to dispel your despair, despite having been with you for weeks."

Emma tried to comfort the angel, but she hadn't a clue how to actually do that, and for some reason, she felt guilty. Knowing that this woman cared so much about her sorrow struck something deep within her. No one had ever cared about her before, and yet here was this woman, sitting in her kitchen floor, completely heartbroken over being unable to make her happy.

"Hey," Emma said softly once more. "Maybe it's my fault. Maybe I just haven't been listening or something. Though it might have helped if I'd have been able to see you this whole time." She laughed softly, and Regina looked up then.

"You are not supposed to see me," she whispered. "It is a violation of our most sacred covenant, and I could be severely punished for being here. I could be recycled."

"Recycled?" Emma asked her, a spark of panic igniting in her chest, because for some reason, she was so goddamn drawn to this woman that she felt truly afraid at the mere possibility of something happening to Regina. "What does that mean?"

"It means that I would no longer exist," Regina explained simply, knowing the longer, more convoluted explanation would only confuse the mortal.

A small gasp escaped Emma then. "Well then, you should go. I don't…I don't want anything to happen to you."

Regina completely melted. She had never felt true affection before and yet she was certain that that was exactly what she was experiencing in that moment. It flooded her body and drew her closer to the blonde. She scooted a bit further across the floor until the two women were mere inches apart and in a gentle whisper, she said, "I would very much like to stay if you would allow it."

Emma just stared at the angel, her heart pounding in her chest. No one had ever wanted to stay before, not for her, not with her. No one. She found herself nodding without thinking, swallowing thickly, and saying, "Yeah. Yeah, you can stay."

* * *

"Wait, you don't eat?" Emma asked, completely surprised. "Like at all? Not even something weird like blood or hell, I don't know, the innocence of children?"

Regina's face scrunched at that, and Emma laughed out loud. A burst of joy sparked deep in Regina's soul, and she knew it was an echo of what was happening in Emma's. The woman's hope was returning, and rapidly. It was the strangest thing, for all Regina had done was sit with her. They had been talking for hours, having moved from the kitchen floor to Emma's small couch.

"I do not," Regina told her. "I do not sleep either. I have always been fascinated by food, though. You all seem so truly enamored with it. It must be wonderful."

Emma just smiled at her. "Yeah, some of it is awesome, but usually it's the greasy, fatty stuff that's bad for you. But damn, it's so good."

"Yes, I confess I have always been interested in learning the taste of a French fry, as you humans call it," Regina said softly, smiling almost shyly at the blonde.

Emma laughed out loud again. "Oh, they're great. Totally addicting. You can't just eat one."

Regina nodded, her eyes glinting with a joy she had never known. "I would imagine not."

"So," Emma said, smacking her lips. "No eating, no sleeping, no being seen or heard or felt, until now of course, and no like using the bathroom or anything like that? You're just this flawless all the time?" She motioned to Regina's figure and face, and the angel seemed thoroughly surprised.

"Flawless?" she asked softly.

"Well, yeah," Emma replied, her face flushing a soft pink. "You're pretty damn gorgeous in case you haven't noticed."

A bright smile blasted across Regina's supple lips then. "I have never seen my reflection," she confessed. "I know not how I appear, only that which I can see. I know how my body appears, though not unclothed, for we are never nude, and I can see that my hair is quite dark. I have never seen my face though."

"Are you freaking kidding me?" Emma asked her, completely flabbergasted. "You've never seen your face or seen yourself naked?!"

Regina merely shook her head, and Emma was on her feet in seconds. "Okay, come on."

"Where will you take me?" Regina asked, rising easily.

"I'm taking you to the mirror," Emma laughed out. "You need to see how beautiful you are."

Regina simply sighed and shook her head. "Emma," she said gently, "only _you _can see me. I have no reflection. In this world, I do not exist, not on this plane anyhow. I still have yet to understand how it is that _you_ can see me."

Emma's expression crumbled then, disappointment flashing across her features and tugging at Regina's soul. "You don't have any clue at all? Nothing?"

"All I know is that I…" Regina began but then hesitated, guilt washing over her face.

"What?" Emma asked. "Tell me."

"All I know is that I wished," Regina began again. "I wished for _you _to see me. I have never done so before with any other mortal."

"But why?" Emma asked her. "Why me?"

Regina took a step closer to the blonde, until they were sharing the same breath, except for the fact that Regina didn't breathe. "You are beautiful," Regina whispered. "Your soul is beautiful, bright despite its many dark spots. You moved me."

That moment, those words, literally sucked the breath right out of Emma's lungs, and she found herself leaning in, moving forward. It was as if every cell in her body was pushing her forward, to Regina. Her eyes tracked the length of Regina's face, darting quickly from eyes to lips and back.

Regina was confused when Emma first began to move toward her, but then, she realized what was happening. Before Emma could completely close the distance, Regina quietly whispered, "Emma, stop."

Emma jerked back quickly, shaking her head. "I'm sorry," she blurted. "I'm sorry. I thought…I don't know what I thought. I just wanted to, and you're just so…god, everything."

Regina smiled softly, almost sadly at her. "You desired to kiss me," she whispered.

Emma's cheeks flushed a deep crimson, but she didn't deny it. She nodded and weakly said, "Yeah. I…like you. I can't explain it. I just feel so drawn to you."

"And I to you," Regina admitted, pure bliss flooding her system. This woman, this beautiful mortal actually desired her, made her feel so much more than she had ever felt in her entire existence. She felt elated, excited, joyful, almost desperate with a desire that she didn't understand, but most of all—she felt alive. "But you cannot kiss me. I am not corporeal."

There was a sadness in her voice, a yearning that Emma could clearly hear, and so she tried to touch her anyway. She wanted to sate Regina's yearning and her own. She reached forward with her hand and tried to cup it around Regina's cheek, only to watch as it passed right through.

"But you look so solid," she whispered.

Regina felt a stinging in her eyes, unfamiliar yet recognizable in its phantom sensation. It was the stinging of tears, tears Regina knew she didn't have and would never cry; yet, she recognized her desire to cry. It was the strangest thing, and she was shocked by it. All of this, it was so much, almost too much.

She let out a heavy sigh and bowed her head. "I am sorry, Emma," she whispered. "I do not belong here."

She then closed her eyes and disappeared.

* * *

Regina reappeared once more on the roof of Emma's building, and she was shocked to find Kathryn there waiting.

"Kathryn," she said in a shaky breath.

"Regina, you must come home with me this second," Kathryn snapped, the tone of her voice serious and even frightening. "The Arch demands your return."

"But Emma," Regina started to say, but Kathryn quickly held up a hand to stop her.

"She is a mortal," the other angel hissed. "You must detach. You cannot stay here, Regina. It is forbidden."

"Can you not understand?" Regina pleaded with her. "I…I need to be with her. She _sees _me. She…she likes me."

Kathryn bowed her head then and let out a soft sigh. "Please, Regina," she whispered, "detach. You have a chance of pleading forgiveness and being granted it if you come with me now. Please do as I ask. I fear for you."

"I am sorry, Kathryn," Regina told her, shaking her head. "I have to stay. I have to try to understand what is happening to me."

"You do not belong here!" Kathryn finally bellowed. "This world is not for our kind. Regina, you have lost your way, and we can help you find it once more, but you cannot stay. You are not mortal."

Regina's head snapped up then, eyes blowing wide, because yes…yes, that was it. "I could be," she whispered before she could stop herself.

Kathryn gaped at her. "No," she said, shaking her head. "No, Regina, you cannot possibly be considering falling from grace for a mortal whom you do not even know."

"I do know her," Regina argued, her voice raspy with the strain of the subject. "I know her soul. I know her life. I know her heart. I know her."

"And you would give up your immortality, your power, your _divinity_ for her?" Kathryn asked.

"I…" Regina hesitated.

"What if she were to leave you? What if you were to give all of this away in this one moment, this one moment in which all you lack is a bit of clarity, only to find that she does not love you, Regina? How can she? She is mortal. She needs time. Love is not instant for mortals as it is for the divine. It is not perpetual. It requires time to grow."

"But it _could_ grow," Regina told her. "She could grow to love me."

"Or she could not," Kathryn countered. "Would that be worth it?"

Regina stared at her friend a long moment, her soul conflicted, but she could not shake that burning flame of hope deep within her nor the image of Emma leaning in toward her, eyes alight with desire. Their silence grew into the night before Regina finally looked up again and quietly but firmly said, "Yes."

"Yes?" Kathryn repeated, her voice riddled with shock and fear.

"Yes," Regina confirmed. "She may never grow to love me, but if I am mortal, then a chance does exist."

"You believe that chance is worth everything?" Kathryn asked in a whisper.

Regina smiled sadly at the angel. "Kathryn, you know as well as I, that love is worth everything." She then turned and took off at a sprint toward the edge of the building. Kathryn screamed out her name, only for the sound to die in the heavy wind.

Regina closed her eyes as she hit the edge of the building and leapt with full abandon, nothing but thoughts of the mortal who had enraptured her tumbling through her mind. Her massive, black-feathered wings erupted from her back and spread as she soared, gliding through the night, and in one final thought, Regina released herself from her immortality.

"I wish to be mortal," she whispered into the night, hovering high above the city.

As soon as the last word slipped across her lips, her gorgeous wings which she had always cherished, burst into bright flames, burning away, and then she was falling.

Falling, falling, falling.

* * *

Regina woke to the sounds of concern. Voices whispering and gasping. People touching her.

Touching.

TOUCHING HER.

Regina's eyes snapped open, and a moment later, pain flooded her entire body. She was face down on the pavement in the middle of the sidewalk in a part of the city she easily recognized. She wasn't far from Emma's apartment.

"Hey, you okay?" someone asked, and Regina turned and looked up then, her eyes bothered by the sun, which had never happened before. She put a hand up to shield its bright beams and stared into the concerned face of a mortal woman who apparently could see her.

Regina cleared her throat and it felt like fire. She could feel the grit of the concrete against her palms and the ache in her face where she had been wounded. She reached up and felt around her forehead, her fingers coming away crimson.

"Blood," she gasped, and then she gasped again as she realized that she could feel that breath going into lungs she had never had before and then filtering out again. "I...I am breathing," she choked out. "I am bleeding. I…I am alive."

The lady hovering over her laughed a little and reached out a hand. "Yeah, you're alive, and by the looks of it, lucky. You get hit by one of those bike messengers or something? They never pay attention."

Regina looked up at her then. "And you can see me," she said, before a burst of laughter escaped her. "I am alive, and you can see me!"

"Oh man," the lady laughed out. "Might need to get you to the hospital." Realizing that Regina wasn't going to take her hand, the lady just reached out and grabbed her shoulders and quickly helped her to her feet.

"And you can touch me!" Regina exclaimed, gasping again.

"Yeah, I can touch you," the lady laughed out again, patting her back. "I can call a cab to take you to the hospital if you like. You seem a bit disoriented. How do you feel?"

"I am in so much pain," Regina told her, laughing. "My entire body hurts, and it is absolutely wonderful!"

"O…kay," the lady drawled, just staring at Regina. "I'm gonna call you a cab."

"No," Regina said quickly, smiling. "No, that will not be necessary, thank you. I have…I have someone I must see."

Then, without another word, Regina took off. Every step hurt, but she reveled in the pain of walking, in the throbbing ache of her face, in the breath spilling into and out of her lungs, in the taste of copper on her tongue, in the way she could feel the breeze tickling her flesh. It had actually worked. She was alive. She was mortal.

And she needed to see Emma.

* * *

Emma was surprised by the knock she heard at her door. She wiped her eyes quickly, ridding the evidence of the tears she had shed after Regina had just fucking disappeared into thin air, the only person who had ever really cared about her. In one blink, she had just been gone.

Emma yanked open the door and gasped so hard she choked, as she was greeted with the sight of none other than the woman she had just been crying over. Only, Regina looked different. She looked…well, _hurt_.

There was blood pouring out of a wound at her temple, and her top lip was busted on the right side, an open slit that was deep enough that Emma was certain it would scar. But she didn't understand. How was Regina bleeding? How was she hurt at all?

"Regina," she said breathlessly. "What…what happened? You're bleeding." She and Regina just gaped at one another, both of their chests rising and falling rapidly. "I don't understand," Emma whispered after a moment.

Regina felt that familiar stinging in her eyes again; only _this_ time, it was followed by wetness. Tears actually welled in her eyes before sliding down her cheeks and a sob escaped her throat. In that one broken yet somehow joyous sound, Regina shot forward, her hand slipping around Emma's neck, and her lips pressing against the blonde's.

Emma's eyes snapped wide open with that first press, but then quickly fluttered closed as her hands shot to Regina's sides and yanked the woman flush against her body. She could taste the coppery hint of Regina's blood on the woman's lips, but she didn't care. All sense left her in that moment as she dove into the sensation of that perfect, desperate kiss.

When they finally broke apart, both women were breathing heavily, staring at one another as they continued to clutch at each other. "What's going on?" Emma finally asked. "How is this possible?"

Regina smiled through her tears. "I fell from grace."

"You what?" Emma gasped.

"I fell from grace," Regina told her again. "I gave up my immortality."

Emma was completely dumbfounded as she held this perfect woman in her arms. "But why?" she asked. "Why would you do that?"

"For a chance," Regina whispered as she leaned forward to press another wet kiss to Emma's lips, the sensation so shocking and wonderful that Regina found she wanted to do it forever.

Emma kissed her back, over and over, the conversation nearly forgotten, but she finally gained her senses again. She shook her head and looked into Regina's tearful chocolate eyes. "A chance?" she asked. "A chance to do what?"

Regina smiled softly, pressing closer for the heat and comfort that Emma's body offered her. It was incredible, the sense of touch. She had often imagined how powerful it might be, but now, actually having it was more. It was overwhelming. She wanted to touch every part of Emma, wanted Emma to touch every part of her. Her fingers itched at the mere thought. It was incredible.

She pressed yet another kiss to Emma's soft lips and then one to her chin and one to the tip of her nose, leaving small crimson smudges behind. Her words were hardly more than breath when they escaped her, and yet, they seemed to shake the entire world. "A chance to love you."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hello my friends. Here is the final chapter of The Divine. It is shorter than the first, mostly just a follow-up showcasing a few of Regina's various first experiences with human sensation. There will be a few short time jumps throughout as well. **

**I hope you all enjoyed this little two-shot, as it was a great pleasure for me to write. Take care, XO-Chrmdpoet**

The Divine, Pt. 2

Regina winced, hissing quietly, as Emma carefully swabbed at the bloody cuts on the brunette's head and lip. It had taken her quite a bit of time to clean those cuts as well as the scrapes on Regina's hands of the tiny bits of dirt and gravel from the sidewalk. Once she had finally cleared the wounds of debris, Emma began to clean the wounds with a healthy amount of rubbing alcohol and cotton swabs.

"Sorry," Emma said quietly as she tended to her fallen angel. Regina squirmed a bit as she perched atop the closed seat of the toilet in Emma's small bathroom. She never complained though. "I know it burns, but I'm almost done."

"It is well," Regina replied quietly. "The sensation is incredible."

Emma chuckled softly. "Really?" she deadpanned. "Pain is incredible?"

"In its magnitude, it certainly can be," Regina told her, trying to speak without moving her mouth much so as not to interrupt the blonde's ministrations at her top lip. "For me, it is incredible as I have never experienced it. Such sensation is overwhelming."

"Yeah, well, there are a lot better things to feel than pain, Regina," Emma responded, her voice a whisper and her words inspiring thoughts that flooded her face with crimson heat. She cleared her throat and thought to clarify that she hadn't meant that in a suggestive way, but then again, maybe she had. It apparently didn't matter either way, because Regina was completely oblivious to any possible suggestions, merely latching onto the comment excitedly and continuing the conversation without a second thought.

"Oh yes," Regina said, tilting her head back a bit further at Emma's press beneath her chin. The blonde was seeking a better angle with which to apply more light to the wound. "I am well aware of the many sensations mortals can experience. I have walked alongside the living for millennia after all. I know all there is to know of the human race and the shades of their experiences on earth, both physically and emotionally."

"Yeah?" Emma asked as she reached for the small tube of triple antibiotic ointment in her medicine cabinet. She carefully began to apply a healthy amount to Regina's lip and then head and hands. "What sensations are you most looking forward to then?"

Regina was practically vibrating as she excitedly began to spew forth all the sensations she was most intrigued by, which basically covered the entire range of sensation; at least, that which Emma was aware of. And Regina was specific. The brunette didn't throw around generic categories like joy and desire. No, Regina wanted to know the experiences of true moments, of real sensation, with defined accuracy.

Emma found it incredible—Regina's thrill, her overwhelming fascination with what it meant to be human. Every word from the woman's lips, every dancing flame of hope and wonder in those deep chocolate eyes, woke Emma to the realization to all she had always taken for granted.

Her life had certainly never been a cakewalk. She knew that, as a kid, she had lived a poorer, darker life than many children. She had experienced the ugliness of humanity in profound ways that continued to echo through her bones and through her soul; that continued to lay dormant yet alive in her flesh. She intimately knew the cold, choking atmosphere of rock bottom. Life had taken great pleasure in holding her head beneath the surface for years, and yet, Emma knew what it was to breathe.

Joyful moments may have been few and far between. They may have been light in weight or fleeting in existence, but they existed as readily on her heart as those moments which plagued her. For years, she had taken every ounce of hope she had ever known for granted. She had taken her blessings for granted, her moments of laughter, her nights of restful sleep when they came, her connections to others however shallow or evanescent. She had taken much for granted, choosing to apply her focus to the negative aspects always, because it just seemed that the darkness always engulfed the light and turned it black.

All these sensations that Regina gushed over—the satisfactory feeling of being full, of having a full stomach; the cooling rush of juice behind the teeth when biting into a fresh fruit, the tart flesh tickling at the lips; the delicious grinding pull of the muscles stretched to the point of pain upon waking; the plunging sensation of one's fluttering stomach when dropping over a peak on a roller coaster ride; the squeezing tightness of one's chest, laboring the breathing, in a fit of laughter; the feather-light brush of fingertips down the length of the spine; the slick coating of arousal pooling between the thighs as the pulse throbs in places far beyond the heart; the pressing weight of lethargy seeding in the bones and growing into the flesh when one's body is riddled with exhaustion; the rushing burst of icy wind biting at the cheeks in winter; the slick, oily descent of sweat beading and rolling along the flesh in the heat—Emma had experienced each of them and so many more.

And yet, at every turn, at every occasion, for the entirety of her life, Emma had been completely unmoved by the experiences. She had failed to be amazed by such sensations, by their simplicity or by their complexity; by their meticulous definition; by the cosmic design that created her body and taught it to react. Regina, though…Regina was moved by it all.

"So…you actually _want _to feel some of that stuff?" Emma asked her after realizing that Regina would merely keep naming off sensations for who knows how long if she didn't stop her. "I mean…like you mentioned some things like friggin' heartburn and migraines and embarrassment and nausea and broken bones and stuff. I've had them all, and trust me when I say that they all suck."

Emma gently lifted the skirt of Regina's long, dark robe, the same robe she had been wearing since the moment they met. She wondered if Regina had ever worn anything else—probably not. After glancing over Regina's knees and calves to ensure there were no further injuries, Emma lowered the robe back down and patted Regina's knees.

Regina smiled brightly at her as Emma helped her to her feet. "Yes, I know," the brunette whispered. "I want to experience everything. If I do not, I will not mourn the loss, but if I can, I will certainly welcome the opportunity. Even pain is not to be taken for granted. It was infused into the human experience for several reasons, the primary of which being a reminder of your mortality, or I suppose it is now _our _mortality, since I am now one of you." She giggled adorably at those words, completely giddy at the thought of being human.

"Oh my, the sensation of laughter continues to please," Regina chuckled, clutching gently at her stomach. "It is delightful."

Emma couldn't stop grinning. It was ridiculous—all of this. The mere idea that angels existed, among other things that she had always only believed to be myths, seemed so wild to her. The fact that a former angel stood in front of her, gushing about the sensation of laughter…Emma could hardly believe what she was experiencing was real.

"Yeah," Emma agreed. "It's pretty great."

"Oh, and kissing," Regina added, nodding her head. "The kissing was quite pleasant. I believe I would very much like to do that again."

Emma laughed, a tingling sensation rippling along her spine and pooling low in her abdomen. "I think we can manage that."

"Yes?" Regina asked "You enjoyed kissing me?"

"Yeah, Regina," Emma answered, stroking a hand over Regina's soft, silky hair. "I…yeah, a lot."

"Truly?"

"Truly," Emma repeated with a nod. "I mean, how could I not? You're gorgeous, and you're just…I like you a lot." She hesitated for a moment before adding, "And for someone who has never kissed anyone before, you're pretty damn good at it."

"I am unsure of exactly what I am feeling right now," Regina replied, grinning, "but I believe it is something akin to what you humans refer to as smug."

At that, Emma laughed out loud. "Alright, alright, don't go getting full of yourself five minutes into being human."

She couldn't stop her hands as they jumped forward of their own accord, reaching for Regina. Her palms cupped gently around Regina's cheeks, her thumbs stroking over the tender flesh. God, this woman was beautiful.

She was beyond beautiful. The lines of her face, the angles of her perfection, the colors, the gentle indentations of her cheeks where Emma's thumbs pressed—Regina was stunning in every way, and Emma found she could hardly catch her breath when caught in her gaze. That was when it hit her. All that she was admiring in that moment, Regina had yet to see for herself.

"Regina," Emma whispered as she continued to stroke at the woman's cheeks.

Regina's heart fluttered in her chest, and she closed her eyes to the soft, magnificent feeling of what she knew to be love. "Yes, Emma?" she asked so quietly that the words barely escaped her.

"Would you like to see yourself now?"

Those words blasted through Regina's mind like a sun flame. She burned with the anticipation of seeing her reflection, the curiosity of how she might appear. "I believe I would," she whispered, "yes."

Emma smiled softly at her before slipping a hand down to lace her fingers through Regina's. She then led the woman into her bedroom where a large body-length mirror hung on the back of her closet door. Emma then moved out of the way and nudged Regina toward the mirror.

A soft gasp escaped Regina's supple lips as she saw herself for the first time. Her gaze drank in every bit—her ebony hair lined in places with hints of silver, just a hair or two; the full fluttering lengths of dark lashes covered brown eyes with tiny, almost unnoticeable flecks of gold; the soft tan glow of her flesh, made more golden in its stark contrast to the glaring red halos of her wounds; the lines and angles, both hard and soft in variation; the exquisite line of her nose and its soft rounded tip; the full curve of her pouty lips; the slender column of her neck that disappeared beneath the dark material of her robe.

She traced her fingers along the line of her jaw and neck, over her lips and nose and forehead. And then, without another thought, Regina's hands shot to the neckline of her robe, and she began unclasping buttons with rapid fingers and growing determination.

"What are you doing?" Emma asked quickly, her spine going rigid as she watched that first bit of naked flesh appear beneath the now open neck of Regina's robe.

"I wish to see myself fully," Regina answered, her voice almost strained as if the mere magnitude of seeing her reflection for the first time had labored her breathing.

"Oh, uh…" Emma hesitated. "Should I…you want me to leave the room? You should have some privacy for this."

Regina turned then, brows furrowing. "Do you not wish to see my body?"

Emma felt the heat in her face as she blushed so furiously that she was afraid she might pass out. She choked a little on her own saliva as she tried to think of how she should answer. Should she try to just be respectful and say no? Or would Regina find _that _disrespectful? Or should she just tell the truth?

Regina seemed to favor the truth, so Emma, despite how much it made her feel like her head was going to burst into flames, told the truth. "Uh…yeah, yes, I do. But, for humans, as I'm sure you know since you've been around us for thousands of years and what-not, that's not really something that you do unless you're really comfortable."

"I am comfortable," Regina said simply, shrugging her shoulders. "Are you not?"

"I mean, I guess," Emma choked out. "If you are. Sure, why not?"

"Very well then," Regina answered. She then whirled back around to face the mirror and rapidly began unbuttoning her robe again. Within seconds, it fell to the floor, and Emma had to bite her tongue to keep from gasping aloud. Regina was stark naked under the robe, and her body was positively breathtaking.

Emma's eyes tracked the length of Regina's reflection just as Regina's own eyes did. The lines were perfect, the angles exquisite. Her breasts were delicate, perky, perfectly round, and her nipples quickly stiffened to attention as they met the cool air. Her stomach was flat and smooth, her belly-button dipping in a gentle oval. The thatch of dark ringlet curls covering the apex of her thighs appeared silky and soft even from a bit of a distance, and Emma's entire body burned liked crimson embers as she took in the sight—building into a roaring fire as the oxygen slowly returned to her lungs.

"Wow," Emma choked out, unable to hold it in.

Regina smiled in her reflection, her hands running the length of her body. "I never thought I would be so…so…"

"Beautiful?" Emma asked, finishing the sentence for her.

Regina turned in all her naked glory and nodded at Emma. "Do you find me beautiful?" she asked gently, waving a hand down the length of her body.

Emma swallowed thickly as she took several quick steps toward the fallen angel. She could feel the heat radiating off of Regina's body the closer she drew. "Regina," she whispered, "I think you're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

Regina's smile was so radiant in that moment that Emma's breath caught in her throat and her stomach flipped pleasantly. She took another step toward Regina so that they were now sharing the same small space of air. She felt the draw of the other woman, felt her body being pulled in by whatever magnetic force existed between them, and just as she was leaning in to press her lips to Regina's, a loud grumbling sound echoed from below.

Regina's eyes blew wide as her hands shot to her stomach, and Emma glanced down, confused for only a moment before bursting into laughter.

"Strange," Regina said, rubbing her belly.

"You're hungry," Emma laughed out. "You need to eat." She then rubbed her own stomach. "Come to think of it, so do I."

Regina's eyes sparked with excitement at those words. "Hungry," she said, her voice laced with her thrill. "I am hungry. This is wonderful."

Emma just chuckled again as she reached out and ran her hands along the bare flesh of Regina's exposed arms. Her fingertips tingled as she licked her lips and said, "Let's find you something to wear, yeah? And then we'll get some food."

"Oh!" Regina exclaimed, nodding. "How will you dress me? May I wear that leather jacket you seem so enamored with? You rarely went a day without it throughout the weeks I kept you as a charge. It must be delightful to wear."

"If by delightful you mean badass, then yeah, it's totally delightful," Emma told her, laughing.

"Badass," Regina repeated slowly. "I have heard this slang before. You know, it has always fascinated me how humans so willingly butcher their own languages."

"Yeah, yeah," Emma told her, leaning forward and pressing her lips to Regina's forehead. "Let's talk about it over dinner, okay?"

"Dinner?" Regina repeated as she moved to sit on the bed while Emma grabbed her some clothes from the closet. "Is this a date? Are you romancing me? Shall we copulate later?"

Emma stumbled and nearly fell into the closet at those words. She choked as she tried to suck in a gasp and gagged on her own saliva. "Damn," she choked out. "You can't just say stuff like that."

"Like what?"

"Like…asking me if we're going to…" Emma's face flushed heavily as she avoided saying the word, but she didn't really need to because Regina repeated it again for her.

"Copulate?"

"Uh, yeah, that," Emma answered, avoiding Regina's gaze. "That's not like standard conversation that you have with people."

"But you are not people," Regina responded easily. "You are you, and I am me, and we have already kissed, and you have seen me naked."

"Good point."

"Do you not wish to have that experience with me?"

"Man, you really know how to put a girl on the spot, don't you?" Emma asked, chuckling awkwardly and scratching at the back of her head.

"Is this one of those deflection tactics used to avoid answering?" Regina asked her then. "If you are not interested in such an experience with me, I would respect that."

"No," Emma answered, and instantly wanted to slap herself when she saw Regina's expression crumple.

Before she could finish her sentence, though, Regina quietly said, "I never imagined the full force of such disappointment would be so profound an experience. I can feel it everywhere and yet I understand."

"No, Regina," Emma said again. "I wasn't saying no I don't want to have sex with you. I was saying no, I _do _want to. Okay, this is getting confusing. So, listen, yes I am very interested in you. VERY interested, and if we end up, you know, making love or whatever later on then that's awesome, but I don't want to rush it. I don't want to take advantage just because you're so excited to experience everything."

Regina smiled slowly. "You are a good person, Emma," she whispered after a long moment. "Even in your despair, you were a good person. I found it so inspiring."

"Inspiring enough to fall from grace, yeah?"

"Indeed," Regina answered, her smile growing.

Emma turned back toward her then, moving back over to the bed with a few pieces of clothing thrown over her arm. "Is that really why you did it?" the blonde asked quietly.

"I told you," Regina answered softly. "I fell for a chance to love you, that you might let me and perhaps one day love me in return."

"But you hardly know me," Emma whispered. "Why would you want a chance to love me?"

"Oh but I do know you, Emma," Regina told her, reaching out to stroke the blonde's cheek. "I know you inside and out. I know all there is to know about you, both light and dark. You are beautiful."

"And just like that, you want to be with me?" Emma asked, brows furrowing. "That easily?"

"Yes," Regina answered. She reached for the clothing and began running her fingers over the pieces before carefully and awkwardly pulling the garments onto her body. "Love, for the Divine, is instantaneous," she said as she dressed. "We, pardon—_they, _are not plagued by the doubt that all mortals experience. There is no negativity to cloud the touch of love and thus, it is exact and swift and all-encompassing."

"So, you're saying that you love me?" Emma asked her. "That's what you're saying right? That you're somehow, incredibly already in love with me?"

Regina stopped focusing on her clothes and looked up at Emma again. She smiled so gently that it made Emma's chest ache. "Yes," the brunette practically sang.

That one simple word brought tears to emerald eyes. "No one's ever loved me before."

"Now someone has," Regina told her, and a single tear slipped down Emma's cheek, heart clenching tightly in her chest. "Now someone does."

"But if this has never happened before, then how…I mean, no angels or Divine or whatever have ever fallen in love with a mortal before?"

"Oh yes, of course," Regina told her, shaking her head. "Many Divine have fallen for mortals in the past. Zeus, Apollo, Aphrodite, Inanna, Ehecatl, Cybele, and many others. As I mentioned before, though, the Divine were punished for their sacrilege, for participating in human acts of the flesh with mortals. This is how we came to be the unseen. None of my kind, the angels of the fallen, have ever been seen by a mortal nor have any of my kind been involved with one. It is possible, however, for a connection of soul to exist between mortal and Divine."

"A connection of the soul?" Emma asked. "What does that mean?"

"Well, it is a rarity, thus it is hardly ever considered or even spoken of in the heavens," Regina answered, "but it is possible for the soul of a Divine and the soul of a mortal to create a destined match."

"Like soul mates?" Emma asked.

"Precisely."

"And you've never heard of this happening?"

"Only once," Regina told her. "One of the nephilim fell from grace to be with a mortal whose soul his did match."

"Nephilim?" Emma asked, face scrunching in confusion.

"Mm," Regina hummed, moving to stand, now fully dressed. "Fallen angels, those disgraced from the heavens and stripped of their divinity. This can happen by choice or one can be condemned to it."

"Wow." This was a lot to swallow for Emma. She could hardly process any of it, but the one thing she was processing buzzed on the tip of her tongue before she blurted. "So, we're soul mates?"

Regina smiled knowingly at her as Emma spluttered and said, "I mean…just wondering. You and me. Are we soul mates? Is that why I feel so drawn to you or whatever."

Regina stepped closer to her, resting a hand gently over Emma's rapidly beating heart. "Yes, I believe so."

* * *

"Oh wow," Regina mumbled around a mouth full of French fries. She moaned loudly in the middle of the McDonalds, and Emma's cheeks flushed as she glanced around at the people staring at Regina. The woman was in apparent ecstasy. "Oh wow," she said again as she chomped on the fries. "They are so…what is it? Oh, salty! Warm and salty and wonderful."

Emma was biting her lip roughly to keep from cackling at the woman. Not only did Regina look hilariously cute in Emma's dark red-leather jacket and one of her white tank tops, skinny jeans, and boots, but the woman was practically praising Jesus over a few French fries. Emma had never been so thoroughly entertained by something so simple in all her life.

The thought of Jesus had Emma asking, "Hey, is Jesus real?"

"Yes," Regina answered almost absent-mindedly, reaching across the table for Emma's small cup of ketchup and dunking her fries into them.

"Oh, so…then Christianity got it right?" Emma asked. "It's the right religion?"

"No," Regina answered simply again.

"Huh?"

"All religions practiced on earth are correct," Regina told her, words muffled as she simply could not stop eating, "and all religions practiced on earth are incorrect."

"Okay, that makes no sense," Emma argued.

"On the contrary, it makes perfect sense," Regina responded. "Portions of each religion are correct, but none are correct in their entirety. Many of the persons mentioned in religious tomes were real people but rarely performed the tasks these tomes claimed them to have performed. Also, many of the stories that appear in these tomes are false."

"Huh, that's…wow," Emma said, nodding. "I always figured a lot of it was fiction."

"Mmhmm," Regina hummed. "Emma, have you tried this tomato concoction, ketchup. You have hardly touched your food. It is fantastic."

"You're fantastic," Emma laughed out, and Regina just smiled at her.

"Mortality is wonderful."

"Yeah," Emma said, sighing gently and resting her head on her hand as she grinned at Regina, "tell that to the people who are suffering."

Regina stopped chewing then, her brows furrowing, and Emma worried that she had upset her. "Sorry," the blonde said quickly. "Sorry. I tend to be a pessimist."

Regina reached across the table then and squeezed Emma's hand. "There are many sides to each circumstance, Emma," she explained. "The sorrows are necessary. They grow the soul. They teach the body to appreciate joy."

Emma lost herself in the endless depths of Regina's warm chocolate eyes as the brunette stroked the back of her hand with her thumb. "You're incredible, you know that?"

Regina's cheeks actually tinted a soft pink and the woman ducked her head a bit. Emma just chuckled and added, "Wanna get a McFlurry now?"

"A Mc-what?"

"Ice cream," Emma clarified, grinning.

Regina was out of her seat and practically running for the counter before Emma could even stop laughing.

* * *

Emma traced her hands along Regina's clothed side as they lay atop the covers in Emma's bed, merely staring at one another. Her heart was racing. They had had a perfect day together, and every instinct of Emma's was telling her to run because this wouldn't last. There was no way this could last.

But one look in Regina's eyes, and the crashing waves in Emma's soul settled. The fears in her mind quieted, and she somehow felt secure. The love in Regina's gaze, in her eager touch and her gentle smile were comforting in a way that Emma had never experienced.

Regina felt like fate, and as corny as Emma thought that sounded even inside her own mind, she knew it was also true. There was no better way to describe it. Lying there with her own fallen angel, Emma felt like, in that moment, she was exactly where she was meant to be.

"May I kiss you?"

Emma's entire body tingled as those words slipped across Regina's lips in a gentle whisper, and she found herself nodding almost instantly. A moment later, and Regina's hands were slipping over Emma's sides, clutching and kneading the flesh beneath her clothes. Regina's lips slid over hers, and Emma did her best to be as gentle as possible, hyper aware of the cut on Regina's lip. She didn't want to cause the woman any pain even though Regina seemed equally elated by all experiences—both good and bad.

When they parted, Regina whispered, "I never knew it could be this overwhelming."

"What?" Emma asked.

"Touch," Regina answered. "Touching you, having you…I never knew love could feel as wonderful on the flesh as it does in the soul."

"Mm," Emma hummed. "You have no idea."

Regina's eyes grew vulnerable then as her voice quieted to a breathy plea. "Show me."

Heat rippled through Emma's lower abdomen, curled around her thighs, and pooled between her legs. "Are you sure?"

Regina sucked in a sharp breath as Emma yanked her closer. She felt her own wave of heat rolling down her spine and throbbing in her core. "Oh," she gasped softly. "Do that again."

Emma chuckled as she pressed her fingers into Regina's hip and jerked the woman flush against her body. They both let out soft moans of pleasure.

"Wow," Regina whispered, and Emma nodded. "More."

"More?" Emma repeated.

Regina nodded, body vibrating against Emma's as she brushed her lips over the blonde's again. "So much more."

* * *

The friction of flesh on flesh, bodies writhing together, danced along Regina's nerves—magnetic and powerful. She shook against Emma, fingernails digging into the blonde's back. Her legs, wrapped around Emma's waist, trembled as Regina rocked her naked flesh against Emma's hand and abdomen, slick with the evidence of her arousal and Emma's sweat.

Lips pressed, hard and soft, teeth bumping, noses bending against cheeks, and hands desperately grasping for purchase as Emma pumped in and out of Regina, pushing the fallen angel closer and closer to the ecstasy of her first incredible orgasm in millennia of existence.

"Please," she chanted over and over, unsure what she was even pleading for and only aware that she couldn't stop. She didn't want to stop. God, she never wanted to stop.

In that moment, even as a mortal, Regina somehow felt more Divine than ever before—the purity of her connection to this woman, the beauty of their molding flesh…it took her breath away.

And then she was spiraling over the edge, body clamping tightly around Emma's as she moved in the rhythm of the waves. She shouted her pleasure, breathless and enchanted by the experience, before collapsing limply into Emma's arms.

Emma settled her against the pillows and lay down beside her, both of them panting heavily as they attempted to catch their breath. "That…" Regina struggled to get the words out as she fought for air, her body glistening with a light sheen of sweat and her chest heaving.

"Yeah," Emma whispered, nodding.

"No wonder humans are so tempted by lust," Regina finally managed to say, and Emma just chuckled against her moist flesh, her arms tightening around the woman.

* * *

In the first days of their time together, Regina began to slowly lose her memory of all that came before. Every time she woke from slumber, she could remember less. Her life as a higher being became hazed in her mind, fuzzy as if it was but a dream she could only barely recall.

"It is my punishment," she had whispered to Emma late into the night as they lay tangled in a heap of naked limbs.

"What do you mean?" Emma asked.

"The punishment for my sacrilege," Regina told her. "It is to forget my life before, the millennia I lived before I found you."

"Oh," Emma whispered. She rubbed her hand soothingly along Regina's arm. Regina trembled against her, and Emma pressed a kiss to the brunette's temple, feeling the sorrow radiating off of her in waves. "You can cry if you need to, Regina."

And she did. She cried. She mourned the loss of her memories, of her life as a Divine, of the angels she had once known as her own, of the knowledge she had collected over millennia of living. She mourned the loss of her divinity for the first time since she had fallen.

But not once did she ever regret her decision.

When she woke the next morning, she remembered even less. And then eventually, there was nothing, only the knowledge of what she once had been but no memories of it. So, she forged new memories, and Emma helped her. They were together every step of the way.

* * *

Every day, every moment, with Regina taught Emma's soul to thrive again. Regina taught her how to hope. Regina taught her heart to love so fiercely that she nearly ached with it.

She fell in love quickly, beautifully—timid and then rushing. Regina's fingertips were lanterns on her flesh, scattering her darkness, and Regina's lips…they were laces along her spine, pulling her up from under the weight of sorrow and teaching her how to bend without breaking. Regina was her second chance.

"You didn't fail, you know?" Emma said one morning as she watched Regina carefully crack eggs into a bowl.

"I know," Regina said happily. "I finally cracked an egg with one hand. I am quite pleased."

Emma chuckled. "No, I meant with me."

"With you?"

"Yeah," Emma said as she slipped behind Regina and wrapped her arms around the woman's waist. "When you were an angel…you didn't fail me. You did save me, Regina."

Regina closed her eyes and leaned into Emma's touch, her heart fluttering wildly in her chest.

"You gave me hope," Emma whispered into Regina's neck. "You're the reason I'm alive, and…"

"And?" Regina asked, her voice trembling as tears welled in her eyes.

"And in love," Emma told her, the words vibrating in Regina's soul.

She turned swiftly in Emma's arms and gazed into the blonde's eyes. "You love me?" she asked so softly that Emma more felt the words than heard them.

Their foreheads rested gently together as they held one another in the kitchen, and Emma nodded slowly. "So much," she whispered.

Tears slipped slowly down Regina's cheeks as she tilted her head up and brushed her lips against the woman's who had changed her life, the woman who had altered her destiny, the woman who had taught her how beautiful mortality could be, and she whispered in return.

"So much."


End file.
